By Dave Pollard, Guelphstorm.com Exclusive

Safe to say Daniel Maggio's first two months in a Guelph Storm uniform have been, well, challenging.

And it's got nothing to do with his on-ice performance, which to this point has been limited to four games. Let's rewind to the end of August. After three seasons with the Sudbury Wolves, the team that drafted him in the first round in 2007, Maggio was traded to the Storm for three draft picks and the rights to a goalie not in Guelph's future plans.

Within days of the trade, and after a short time skating with the Storm veterans and prospects at training camp, Maggio flew off to New York for his second NHL camp. When the Rangers returned Maggio to Guelph, he jumped right into the lineup without as much as a chance to reintroduce himself to his new junior teammates.

Four games later, the 6-foot-3, 202-pound defenceman was again out of the lineup, this time due to what the team is calling an upper body injury.

"I think it's tough on any kid, whether you're coming into a new organization or you're familiar with a program," Storm head coach and general manager Jason Brooks said of the whirlwind Maggio has been through the last eight weeks. "You go to a pro camp, then you're thrown right to the wolves without practicing. It's got to be very tough. He's a young man who is fighting for a pro contract, he wants to be on a winning team and that's our goal. He wants to be a big part of that."

Yep, it hasn't been easy for Maggio. Because of the injury, he hasn't been able to contribute much yet, even as the Storm has struggled to meet high expectations in the early going.

Good thing he really likes the idea of being in Guelph.

"Earlier in the summer I asked for a trade from Sudbury and gave them a few teams to work with," Maggio said. "When I heard it was Guelph I was very excited. I'm pleased to be here. We have a lot of drafted guys, signed guys, here so it's a good group. When we get it together and start working together, I think we can go far in the playoffs and hopefully win the Memorial Cup. That's the main goal."

If the Storm hopes to take a run at the Memorial Cup, they'll need Maggio to get healthy and perform the way Brooks expects.

With the blueline corps needing an upgrade in experience, Brooks was able to pry Maggio away from the Wolves for a pair of second-round draft picks (both of which came to Guelph in the Ben Chiarot deal last season), a fifth-rounder and the rights to Joel Vienneau. It was a high price to pay but, based on his time coaching the Ontario under-17 team in 2008, Brooks knew exactly what he was getting in Maggio on and off the ice.

"The under-17 program was great for me because you get to see some of these kids and kids don't change from the time they are 17 to the time they're 19 or 20," Brooks said. "He's a heart and soul guy who, on that team, would have done anything to win the gold medal. He's a competitor, he's salt of the earth. He's got that small town feel to him. To have him want to be here was obviously flattering. He's willing to do anything to help the team. Need (someone) to block a shot, he does it. He is also a consummate team guy."

Maggio's skill set includes a lot of things the Storm needs on the back end. To start with, he's big and plays a physical style that includes a willingness to mix it up with the opposition's big boys. Last year in Sudbury he had 121 penalty minutes in 66 games.

And he's got some offensive flair -- he had nine goals and 22 assists in 2009-10 -- which should compliment overager Sam Lofquist and emerging veteran Tim Campbell, particularly on the power play.

But even Maggio knows he'll be asked to do more than just chip in at both ends of the ice. His role in the room will be important, too.

"I want to bring my leadership," he said. "I've been in this league for four years now. One of the main things about a winning team is chemistry and that's something we've got to work on, hopefully sooner rather than later. I think I have offensive skill and I'm a pretty big guy so I can play the shutdown role as well. I like to be physical. I'll drop my gloves with just about anyone given the right time, if the team needs it. Any position they put me in I'm going to work hard and do my best."

The one positive about Maggio's tumultuous pre-season was that he got to spend some time in an NHL camp and learn from some of the best players in the world, including a pair of former Storm skaters, Dan Girardi and Ryan Callahan.

"It was a great experience playing with those NHL players," Maggio said of his time with the Rangers. "You can't get better than that. When you're going one on one with Marian Gaborik, it's pretty cool. It's a good experience and I was really happy to get to do it. Just watching some of those defencemen play, like Dan Girardi, you pick up little things they do on the ice. And the way they are off the ice as well. (The Rangers) just want to see me keep progressing as a player. They're really happy to see me here."

When Maggio gets back in the lineup, which might not happen for a couple more weeks, the Storm should get a big boost defensively. Although he might not yet be a true No. 1 defenceman, his presence will allow the team's other blueliners to play a role -- and minutes -- they are most comfortable with.

"To be able to get him was huge for our team because he helped piece together our back end," Brooks said. "I think he's a two-way guy. For Daniel to move on to the next level he's going to be more of that shut-down guy. Right now, for us, we need him to be both that shut down guy and a power-play guy. In our back end he's definitely a top-four guy, you could say a top-two guy who logs a lot of minutes."

If there's something Maggio needs to work on, it's his skating. He addressed that shortcoming in the off-season when he started working with power-skating coach Barb Underhill, who coincidentally is also on the Storm staff.

"That's going to be a real big positive, working on my skating which needs to be improved," Maggio said. "I just started working with her this summer so it's cool how I ended up here."